Naira ends week on strong note, closes at N385 to a dollar
Efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria to salvage the naira yielded positive results as the nation’s currency closed at N385 to a dollar on Friday.
During the week, the CBN injected a total of $380 million into the forex market and increased the forex allocations of Bureau de Change operators to meet the needs of customers.
This makes it the second time that the allocations would be increased in recent times with the first been from $8,000 per week to $10,000 per week on March 30.
On Tuesday, CBN announced that it would increase the weekly allocation of BDCs from $10,000 to $20,000.
On the international market, the naira closed at N315.99 to a dollar, N404.5 to a pound and N338 to the euro.
At the parallel market, the naira closed at N385 to a dollar, N490 to a pound and N410 to the euro.
On April 12, the CBN made spot sales totaling $100 million to interested SMEs through its newly opened foreign exchange window for small scale importers.
Isaac Okorafor, CBN acting director of corporate communications, had explained that the new window for SMEs was a means of providing small scale importers an avenue to source forex.
Okorafor said no SME would be allowed to transact more than $20,000 per quarter.
In order to sustain the Naira appreciation momentum, the CBN must change the colour of the Naira.
The BDC allocations are mopping up those who have illegal Naira in their false walls, coffins, overhead tanks, soakaways, farm land pits, pig safes at homes, empty rented apartments etc.